Another stumbling block was that while the buyers were prepared to give Ellis the title of life president and ownership of Seat 1, Row 1, in the directors box, he still wanted to remain chairman with the right to be involved in all decision making, as he is now.

I can reveal that the offer came amid much media attention on a Venezuelan allegedly wanting to make a bid - the same man who was said to have turned up at Stamford Bridge before Roman Abramovich. However, sources close to Villa say the South American interest was a smokescreen - the prospective buyers were 100 per cent British and quite happy for the Venezuelan to be featured in the press to provide a cover for their activities.

I understand that the bidders are still interested and they also approached another significant shareholder, Jack Petchey, who owns 15 per cent of Villa. Petchey, who has made money through property deals, has been involved with several clubs. He was on the board of West Ham, then in 1988 bought Watford from Elton John for £900,000. It was a deal that lost Elton John money, as he had invested £3.2 million, but Petchey made a profit when he sold his interest for £4.1 million.

Had the potential Villa buyers got Petchey's shares, they would have tried to acquire the 9.9 per cent owned by Premium TV, giving them nearly a quarter of the club.

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However, Petchey turned down their offer. It is not clear why, although Villa experts say this might have been due to the fact that the club own two valuable pieces of property which could be extremely lucrative should they receive permission for development.

The club's stockbrokers, Arden Partners, said: "The group owns two strategic pieces of land, Serpentine and the Siemens site, which are near to the stadium and have development potential."

On match days these are used for car parking. The 35-acre Serpentine site could become a retail development, while the Siemens site could be used for business units. They are valued at £1 million in the books of accounts but if planning permission was obtained then they would be worth much more, probably about £40 million.

It is possible, Petchey is aware of this and felt the price he was offered was not enough. Ellis also seems to be aware of this, which explains why he is believed to have wanted £60 million.

The buyers felt that the £35 million offer was generous. Villa are valued on the Stock Market at £19 million. When the club were floated in 1997, they were valued at £125 million, but that was when the Stock Market had a much stronger regard for football. Even at £35 million, Ellis would have made a nice profit on his stake, as he paid only £400,000 in the Eighties.

It is loss of control rather than money that seems to haunt Ellis, more so as he is aware that for all his talk of having been on the board since the Sixties he was not there during Villa's glory days in the early Eighties. As older Villa fans never cease to remind him, he was then at rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I understand it was Ellis's attitude to prospective buyers which finally forced Mark Ansell, the deputy chief executive and finance director, to resign last Thursday. It was not a dramatic bust-up but a simmering build up of frustration and anger going back nearly two years.

Ansell was for many years Ellis's accountant and is a lifelong Villa supporter. He came on the board just before the flotation and was made deputy chief executive three years ago in the City's expectation and hope that he would take over from Ellis. This did not happen, instead sources say that if a manager or a member of the football staff was seen talking to Ansell, Ellis wanted to know about the conversation.

Ansell has refused to comment and Ellis, who was in a meeting, did not return my call yesterday.

Ellis's stake means it would be virtually impossible for anyone to take over Villa without his consent. However, if they did manage that, despite the problems on the field - Villa are third-bottom of the Premiership - the prospects of making money are good. Arden Partners are forecasting that this season Villa before transfers will make a profit of £3.2 million.